Value
Inside and Out

What
do you value most in your home? It's hard to pick out
just one thing because there are so many treasured items
in your possessions there is just too much
competition.

What's
more, the more you try to think of your favourite, the
more items pop into your head. Imagine trying to replace
all this. Now imagine trying to put all the pieces back
together without the help of insurance.

Most
property owners have buildings insurance. In most cases, you will
need to prove you have buildings insurance before you can get a
mortgage. So although it is not a legal requirement to owning a
home, because most of us need a mortgage, it has become a kind of
law by default.

Contents insurance on the other hand is not required when you take
out a mortgage. In fact, there is no governing body or organisation
that stipulates you must have contents insurance, so many people try
and cut corners or forget it altogether. But, with most home
contents being worth tens of thousands of Pounds, it's pretty
stupid not to have it.

Some people are put off by the price. They argue that they might as
well save the money then if something goes wrong, which they feel is
unlikely, they will have money in the bank to pay for it. What these
people forget however, is that quite often everything goes wrong at
once, your house may be damaged in a fire or flood for example, and
they simply would not be able to afford everything. Furthermore,
although people claim they are putting things aside for a rainy day,
much of the time they aren't, or they aren't saving enough.

Home
contents insurance doesn't have to be expensive. It now
provides, what it calls Essential cover, which as the name suggests
covers the essentials so you don't have to pay more than you have
to, but still ensure peace of mind.

There
are other tricks and tips that can lower the cost of your home
contents insurance too. For example, if you pay upfront, in one
annual payment you can save 4-10% when compared with monthly direct
debit payments over the course of a year.

Additionally,
by joining your local neighbourhood watch and installing a burglar
alarm you can chop another 10-15% off the policy price.???